Outbreak
by Angel Sciuto
Summary: The team is quarantined when some of them fall victim to an unknown illness. While they rush to find out what is wrong with them, they also find out that someone they know is to blame for the attack......
1. Chapter 1

**Outbreak.**

**Chapter 1. Infection.**

Author's note: I thought the idea of a disease attack on the team while not an original idea would be more fun if more than one person got sick _AND _if someone everyone knows was responsible for the attack!! I am not a disease expert & while I did research the symptoms don't be surprised if it doesn't sound quite logical.

I know most diseases are viral especially the Spanish Influenza but I needed a way to infect the team so it was the only way I could come up with while still implicating the traitor!! ENJOY!!

BTW this story has both Cate & Ziva & Director Shepard.

Gibbs was annoyed. It had seemed like a routine case. Room found at Quantico Naval Base, blood everywhere, human detritus, as Ducky called it, & a petty officer who couldn't be found. But Ducky & Abbey may have found evidence to prove otherwise. He sighed as he waited for the elevator. He glanced over at the others. Tony was obviously arguing with Cate & Ziva over something, McGee was trying not to get involved. None of them were doing what they were supposed to be doing. But for once Gibbs was too preoccupied to blast them. As the elevator bell brought him back to the problem at hand he found himself, as he usually did in times like this, needing coffee. He chuckled to himself.

When he walked into autopsy, he was surprised to find Ducky & Palmer were entertaining Abbey, Fornell & Director Shepard. He shot a questioning look at Ducky, who shrugged.

"False alarm Gibbs, your case was nothing more than a prank taken too far. The alleged victim didn't think his roommate would call NCIS. He came forward this morning & explained everything. The felony charges will be handled by the FBI." Gibbs gave his famous 'over-my-dead-body' stare & Fornell chuckled. Before Gibbs could verbally respond the Director preemptively answered his question.

"It's out of my hands, Jethro. Normally it would be up to NCIS but the Director of the FBI has stressed that they'll take control of the investigation as of today. Don't look at me like that!" The Director rolled her eyes at his attempted death stare & left the room followed by Fornell.

Upstairs a heated debate was reaching a peak.

"Tony you are so immature! How many times have I told you to stay away from my desk?" Cate demanded. Tony attempted to charm her with his smile but she didn't waver.

"You never said anything about staying away from your trash!" he grinned & ducked as she tried to hit him.

"I would have thought," she said in a dangerously quiet voice, "That you would've realized the trashcan is next to the desk & therefore OFF LIMITS! Touch my stuff again, & yes that includes the trash, & I will castrate you." As Tony started to laugh he caught the look in Cate's eye & stopped. He tried another charming smile.

"I'm sorry Cate. I'll never touch your trash ever again." They were suddenly interrupted as Cate's cell phone began to ring. She elbowed Tony to prevent him from grabbing the phone & picked it up. She checked the caller ID before walking away to answer. While her back was turned, Tony picked up her bag & started going through it.

"Uh… Tony… I don't think you should um…" McGee tried to convince him to stop but Tony gave him a 'Gibbs' stare & he stopped. Before Tony could properly investigate the inner workings of Cate's bag, he felt a hand slap the back of his head & turned to see Gibbs standing directly behind him.  
"DiNozzo, report!" Tony quickly ran back to his desk & not only because of Gibbs. Cate's phone call had ended & he knew she would elbow him again if she saw him going through the contents of her bag.

Just as Tony was about to speak the elevator dinged & Fornell stepped out.

"How about you & you team come over to my house for dinner? You look like you haven't eaten in a while, Jethro."

Gibbs stared at him, daring him to continue. How dare he? First he walks in & steals the case & now he has the nerve to suggest dinner? He looked around & noticed that while everyone looked as though they liked the idea, & Gibbs knew it had been hours since lunch, they were all waiting for him to answer.

While he was tempted to give Fornell a serve, Gibbs held back.

"Sounds fine, Tobias."

Everyone was shocked. Tony opened his mouth to speak but one look at Gibbs' face & Tony knew better. As they all headed for the elevator, Fornell & Gibbs stayed behind in the squad room.

"Okay, Jethro. What's going on? I know you hate jurisdiction issues but this is not like you."

Gibbs flinched as Fornell finished.

"Firstly Tobias, this isn't about jurisdiction as it is about the fact that the FBI never handles Navy issues unless it involves drugs &/or terrorism. Even then the FBI rarely gets involved unless needed. Off the record Tobias, why does the director of the FBI want to handle this?" Fornell took a long breath & thought for a minute before answering.

"You're not going to like this Jethro," Gibbs waited for him to continue.

"The petty officer tried to fake his own death. We have reason to believe he has unwanted ties to Al-Qaeda & Hamas. If we do this right we could potentially bring down more than one cell in Washington. You might not like being out of the loop Jethro, but if we are able to catch a few terrorists before they can complete their missions, than maybe the world can be a little safer." Gibbs sighed & nodded.

"Are you two coming? We're waiting for you in the carpark, boss. Ouch thanks." Tony added as they stepped into the elevator.

When they got to Fornell's house, they gathered for drinks in the sitting room while Fornell prepared the food. His wife had cooked it & left it ready for Fornell to serve up.

As Fornell called them into the dining room, they noticed he wasn't eating.

"Ate earlier. Hope you enjoy." As they talked & laughed, Gibbs' gut was bothering him. Something was hinky but he couldn't put his finger on it. He put it down to the fact hr hadn't slept for hours. Gibbs pushed it out of his mind & tuned back into the conversation.

When he got home, it was bugging him again. He walked in his front door & headed for the coffee machine. As the coffee was brewing he ran his fingers through his hair.

Why was his gut bugging him? What was hinky? He poured his coffee & headed for the shower.

As he laid down on his bed, he knew whatever was bugging him would come to him eventually. All he had to do was hope it would be before anyone got hurt.

The next day, everyone was sitting at their desks hoping Gibbs' phone would ring. While there was no current cases, Gibbs had them catching up on paperwork. Not exactly one of Tony's favourite things to do. So, everytime he thought Gibbs wasn't watching, he would scrunch a piece of paper into a ball & throw it at McGee. Usually after the first few times Gibbs would notice & yell at him or slap him over the back of the head. But for some reason Tony noticed Gibbs didn't seem to be himself. Not that Tony minded. He didn't particularly enjoy being headslapped by Gibbs. But it was still unnerving. All of a sudden, Ziva stood up. Everyone looked in her direction.

"Head." She said by way of explanation. As she disappeared out of view, Tony started up again. But before he could throw anymore paper, he felt himself being pummeled by paper balls. He looked up to see McGee throwing every ball Tony had thrown back at him with vengeance.

"Having to do paperwork is unpleasant enough without you throwing paper at me, Tony. So cut it out or next time I'll throw something heavier!!" Tony was taken aback. Despite the fact that McGee was threatening him, Tony smiled. For once McGee was sticking up for himself. Just as Tony was about to answer, Cate, who had been up with the Director, walked into the squad room.

"Where's Ziva?" she asked looking around.

"In the head." Answered Gibbs, without looking up.

"Uh… boss come to think of it she's been gone a while, you don't think something's wrong, do you?" Piped up McGee.

"Cate, grab Abbey & check all the bathrooms just in case. My gut is telling me something is hinky." Cate headed for the elevator & just as she was about to push the button, it dinged & almost as though she telepathically heard her name, Abbey6 was standing in it.

"Abbey, Gibbs wants us to search the bathrooms for Ziva. His gut is bugging him." Abbey nodded & saluted as Cate stepped into the elevator. If this had been any other day Cate would have laughed, but there was something in Gibbs' voice that had worried her. Cate had never liked Ziva much, but she'd gotten used to her & if something had happened… well it just wouldn't be the same.

They hurried into the first bathroom they could see after exiting the elevator. As they walked in Cate pulled out her sig. She held it out in front of her as she walked around the corner & indicated that Abbey should stay outside until Cate cleared the room. Abbey was standing outside thinking about Ziva & how when she had first joined the team Abbey had pretty much despised her when she noticed McGee seemed to have a crush on her. But after a while she had gotten used to her & considering on numerous occasions, she had helped to save the others from potentially fatal situations, she wasn't as bad as Abbey had originally thought. Suddenly a shout from inside the bathroom brought Abbey back. It was Cate.

"Abbey! Call security & paramedics!! Hurry!"


	2. Chapter 2

Outbreak

**Outbreak.**

**Chapter 2.**

**Detection. **

_Recap; Gibbs has sent Cate & Abbey to find Ziva………_

"Abbey, Call for help. Hurry!!" Abbey had been distracted, thinking about some of the crazy cases they had had over the years. Terrorists, serial killers, rapists, frame-ups, Gibbs being blown up, Tony getting the pneumonic plague, Ducky being kidnapped by a psychopath, Tony & Ziva undercover, the case that was nearly SHC (spontaneous human combustion), even she herself hadn't been completely without danger what with a hit man _&_ an old boyfriend trying to kill her! Life working at NCIS was never dull.

Suddenly she heard Cate calling her. She ran in to see what was wrong & got the shock of her life. Abbey had seen a lot of things but this took the cake.

Ziva was lying face down in a pool of blood. As Cate rolled her over, she grabbed her cell & rang Ducky. Abbey was frozen. She couldn't think, couldn't speak, and couldn't move. Cate tried to see if Ziva was still breathing but before she could Ziva opened her eyes & tried to sit up, coughing terribly as she did so. Her nose, while it didn't look like she had been hit, had blood streaming from it.

Ducky rushed in to find Ziva coughing & struggling to breathe, Cate was trying to help her & Abbey was frozen to the spot, crying silently. He patted her shoulder & hurried over to Cate & Ziva. Abbey watched as they helped her to sit up & jumped as she felt someone gently leading her out of the bathroom. She turned to see McGee beside her. He was white as a sheet & tried to give her a reassuring smile as he put his arm round her shoulders. As they came out of the bathroom, Tony, Gibbs & Jimmy were standing outside. As McGee bolted to his desk to call 911, Abbey stumbled forwards. Seeing she was about to fall, Gibbs stepped forward & caught her.

"Ziva… she… & all over… Cate… helping…" she trailed off, sobbing into Gibbs' shoulder. Tony could tell just by looking at Abbey this was bad. As long as he had known her, Tony had never known Abbey to cry much. Not even when her own life was threatened. Seeing Abbey crying filled Tony with fear. If Abbey was crying things were definitely grim.

Just then, paramedics directed by McGee bolted towards the bathroom with a gurney. Tony wanted desperately to bolt in after them but knew it was better to let them do their jobs. As he was struggling to stop himself bolting into the bathroom, Cate & Ducky came out. Cate was crying & Ducky was trying to console her.

"Caitlin you've done everything you can to help her. The medics will be able to help her from here. She'll be ok." He said with a glance at Gibbs, who was still comforting Abbey. Tony was about to put his arm around Cate when the paramedics came out pulling the gurney. Tony felt weak inside. Seeing Ziva just lying there, she looked so small & fragile. He was about to follow when suddenly the room went blurry & then nothing but black.

McGee had been heading back to comfort Abbey when he saw the gurney carrying Ziva stop & almost tip over. The paramedics were confused as to the source of the near accident & McGee saw Tony lying unconscious almost completely underneath the gurney.

"TONY!!" McGee cried running over. The others, hearing McGee call out saw Tony & ran over to help. Jimmy bolted for the elevator & Ducky was annoyed that he was running off. The paramedics got in touch with their base & requested a second ambulance be sent. Ducky was trying to wake Tony with no response. Gibbs took off his jacket as Ducky lifted Tony's head & placed in under. Just then Jimmy returned with a gurney. Ducky was pleased & as McGee, Cate & Gibbs put Tony onto it Ducky praised Jimmy.

"Good thinking, Mr. Palmer!! Very quick thinking." Jimmy smiled & then helped to raise the gurney as the second pair of paramedics ran out of the elevator. As Tony & Ziva were taken off to Bethesda, Director Shepard came down.

"What was all that, Jethro?" Gibbs looked up at the sound of his name.

"Tony & Ziva. Ziva was bleeding & Tony collapsed. They're being taken to Bethesda. I'm going to head over & make sure they're ok." Without another word & after making sure McGee was supporting Abbey, who still seemed unstable on her feet, he headed for the elevator followed by Ducky. As McGee led Abbey over to a chair, Cate explained to the Director what had happened.

"There is a chance that the rest of the team could have whatever has made Ziva sick. But it doesn't explain why Tony collapsed, unless he has the same thing as Ziva but is showing different symptoms." Said Director Shepard. Cate nodded, but looked puzzled.

"The biggest questions now are what do they have & how did they get it?" She voiced what they were all thinking.

"Not to mention, does everyone else have it too? Plus is this another attempt by someone to kill everyone on the team?" McGee piped up, as he tried to work out whether Abbey was ok. She hadn't spoken a word throughout the whole ordeal & was now sitting at McGee's desk staring off into space. McGee waved his hand in front of her face without success.

"I think she's in shock. Maybe we should take her to Bethesda just in case." Just as he said this Abbey came out of it & shook her head.

"Its sweet that you care McGee but I'm ok. We have to make sure Tony & Ziva are ok though." She stood up & started heading for the elevator. She pushed the button then waved to the others to follow her.

When they got to Bethesda, Ducky, Jimmy, Gibbs & a doctor were standing together quietly discussing something.

"We'll have to keep a close eye on both of them for at least overnight. If their symptoms get worse we will definitely need to admit them. But hopefully there is nothing to worry about & we'll be able to find the cause of their symptoms & fix it without too much trouble." They stopped talking as Abbey, Cate, McGee & Director Shepard walked up.

"Doctor, do we know what's wrong yet?"As they got close the Doctor shook his head.

"Is there anything about their medical histories I should know that could have an effect on why they're sick?" Everyone was thoughtful for a minute. Suddenly Abbey slumped into a nearby chair causing everyone to react.

"I'm fine," she reassured before anyone could speak. "I don't know about Ziva but has anyone told you yet that Tony had Pneumonic Plague about two years ago?" The doctor shook his head.

"That had totally slipped my mind Abigail. Do you think it's a relapse? Surely we would have noticed though? And how would Ziva have managed to get it _before _Tony showed signs?" Ducky said.

"The problem is it looks as though they may have Typhoid or Dengue Fever not Plague. Have they been anywhere recently? Overseas I mean. Like in Africa or somewhere?" He frowned as everybody shook their heads.

"They will be ok won't they?" Gibbs put his hand on Abbey's shoulder as he noticed her eyes filling with tears.

"How about you all go home & get some rest & we'll let you know if anything changes?" Before Abbey could protest the others had helped her up & headed for the exit.

As they got back in the car, everyone could see that Abbey was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Don't any of you care? I've never seen you all get out of a building so fast! Tony & Ziva need us & we're out here in the carpark about to leave." Ducky took her hand in his & tried to console her.

"Abigail, there is nothing we can do at the moment. Anthony & Ziva are in good hands. The doctor will let us know if they get better. But right now the best thing we can do for them is go back to headquarters & try to work out who could have done this." Abbey looked at him puzzled. She had screwed up her nose at Ducky calling her Abigail but now looked confused.

"You thinking someone's trying to kill us again, Duck?" asked Gibbs & Ducky nodded.

"I think once again we need to find out who & why & I don't think we have very long to do so." All of a sudden Jimmy had a thought.

"Uh… what if only one of them was supposed to get sick?" Everyone looked at him waiting for him to continue.

"Well, I mean, how would we find out whether it was supposed to be Tony or Ziva that got sick?" Ducky smiled for the first time in an hour.

"That, Mr. Palmer, will be one of the things we can work out when we get back.


End file.
